I haven’t heard from or spoken to anyone who thinks Kevin Jones made a mistake by withdrawing form the NBA Draft and returning to WVU for his senior season. I also hear Mr. Jones didn’t hear from or speak to anyone who told him it would be a good idea to stay in. No one assured him of first-round status.

So it is with the feedback in his pocket that he returns to WVU as the eyes he opened with a pretty promising performance at yesterday’s combine in New Jersey lock in on him for the next year. Life also becomes a lot easier for Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Noreen in the frontcourt and for Truck Bryant overall, to say nothing of Bob Huggins and his job. Jones, if nothing else, is the top role model.

Let’s examine the other side of the coin, though.

Huggins would prefer his players do what they can do. Jones entered this process saying he needed to get better in some areas and add other dimensions. All of those beliefs were reinforced and he’s going to become a different and more versatile player. He needs to be more aggressive, especially on the team he’s about to lead.

But at what cost? And that presumes there is a cost, which might be unfair.

He’s probably as suited as anyone to handle this because he’s a good teammate and a grounded kid who’s actually been questioned for not being selfish enough in the past. Don’t expect him to become a guy who dominates the ball and, for example, takes a rebound off the glass and decides to run his own fast break.

He will, however, look to create his own shot more, to become more effective off the dribble, to make opponents think when he squares up in a triple threat.

But does that fly in the face of “do what you do?” Certainly one can experiment in Huggins’ lab, but he better not make a mess. That should be pretty interesting because that ability for a player to stay within himself and for the team to stay within itself has been the key — not a key — the past few seasons. This is a test.

We can talk about the weak upcoming draft or if he’s able to elevate his stock after putting up nearly identical stats the past two seasons, so on and so forth, but, to me, the big issue is how he manages adding to his game without taking away from the team … or his potential.

But, again, it can work. He’s bright enough to do it. Another plus is that the Mountaineers will dearly need his contributions next season. He’s their best player. He’s a senior. There are six freshmen and a junior college transfer coming in as opposed to only four other scholarship players. If there was a time and a place for someone to take over and assert himself, well, this is it. Whether or not Jones, who is more of the lead by example type, is capable is up to him, but it’s critical he does, not only for this year, but for the next few years.

WVU will be terribly young next season. Seven is a big number when you talk about newcomers, but it’s more than just them. Jones and Bryant are the only seniors and they’ll start, but after that it’s the still unproven likes of Deniz Kilicli and Dalton Pepper and Kevin Noreen. Everyone but Truck and Jones has at least two seasons of basketball remaining. All of then will have a season of firsts — first time starting, first time in college, etc.

So Jones will carry a large responsibility next season for how the following few seasons transpire. And for that, maybe no one was as happy to see Jones return as was Noreen. Huggins paired the two for offseason workouts and Noreen can’t say enough about what it’s meant for him.

“It’s been great with him leading me and showing me some new things,” Noreen said. “I actually see a lot of similarities between KJ and myself.”

With Jones back on campus, Noreen might not have quite as large of a role as he would without Jones, but the development he’s seen in just a few months will continue.

“What he’s probably showed me the most is hard work,” Noreen said. “He’s not a finished product yet, but he’s going to get there. Where I’d like to be someday is where he’s at right now. The things he’s showed me in drills and workouts are setting the tone for getting all that work done.”